The present invention relates to a method and system for allowing a user to browse through programs which are likely to be of interest to the user based on the user""s past selection history.
Presently, to select a program, many users xe2x80x9cchannel surfxe2x80x9d, or sequentially select each channel, until they find a channel that has a desirable program. However, as the number of available channels continues to grow, channel surfing has become an increasingly inefficient method for users to find a channel. In particular, channel surfing has been especially problematic in connection with a cable television system, which may have more than a hundred channels.
In an attempt to address this problem, some cable television networks dedicate a specific channel to serve as an electronic program guide. Alternatively, an electronic program guide can be superimposed over a current channel as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,978 to Alten et al. Because of the relatively large number of television channels available to a viewer, and since only a few channels can be displayed at one time, it takes a relatively long time to complete one cycle of channels on an on-screen electronic program guide. Furthermore, since the on-screen program guide only provides a limited amount of information about the program (often just the title), it is often not possible for a viewer to ascertain whether or not they are interested in a program from viewing the on-screen electronic program guide. Moreover, since television viewers prefer to actually view the programs in order to make their program selection, they usually move back and forth between the on-screen electronic program guide and the programs wished to be viewed, making the selection of a television program very cumbersome.
Compounding the above problems with program selecting, is the fact that even with such a wide range of programs available, viewers usually prefer selected subsets (i.e., programs of a particular genre) of available programing at regularly recurring times of the day or week. In fact, it is quite common for a viewer to view the same program each day or week.
To overcome the above problems, systems have been provided which include television remote controls with the capability of programming in a limited number of favorite channels. However, the programming of these remotes is relatively complicated. This prevents many less technically oriented viewers from programming their remotes. Also, as viewer""s preferences change, the viewer has to change the programmed channels accordingly to reflect the changes in the viewer""s preferences. Another problem with these remotes is that they are inefficient in that they do not take into account the changes in viewer preferences throughout the day. For instance, if a programmed channel shows a program of a particular genre of interest at a first time during a day or week but not at a second time, the viewer when using the programmed favorite channels function at the second time of the day is actually burdened by having to view an undesirable program. Moreover, since these programmable remotes only store one set of favorite channel settings, these programmable remotes need to be reprogrammed each time a different viewer, such as another member of the household, wishes to use the remote to reflect the viewer""s own viewing preferences.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system which allows each individual user to quickly and easily browse through programs of particular interest to them, regardless of the time of day or week.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and system for individualized content-based program selection.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for allowing a television viewer to readily browse through programs which they are likely to be interested in.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for allowing a television viewer to readily browse through programs which they are likely to be interested in, regardless of time of day or week.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote controller which can be personalized to individual viewers"" viewing preferences with very little action on the viewer""s part.
Accordingly, a method is provided for selecting programs based on the past selection history of a user. The method comprises receiving an input signal indicating the identity of the user and receiving a first input signal from the identified user indicating a first selection preference. The method further comprises determining which channel is currently assigned a program corresponding to the highest reception frequency for the first selection preference in the past reception history of the identified user for the current time period, and automatically tuning to the channel determined to have the highest reception frequency.
In a preferred embodiment, the user is a television viewer and the method further includes displaying the program currently showing on the channel determined to have the highest reception frequency on a television monitor.
In carrying out the method of the present invention, a system for selecting programs based on the past selection history of a user is provided. The system includes a head-end server operable to receive program signals from a programming source, and a user input apparatus operable to generate an input signal indicating the identity of the user and an input signal indicating a degree of a desired selection preference. The system further includes at least one set-top box in communication with the head-end server and the user input apparatus. The at least one set-top box includes a program receiver to receive the program signals from the head-end server, and a user input receiver to receive the input signals from the user input apparatus. The system further includes a memory to store the past selection history of the identified user, a processor for determining which channel is currently assigned a program corresponding to the degree of the desired selection preference of the identified user for the time period in which the input signal indicating the degree of the selection preference is received, and a tuner operable to automatically tune the program receiver to the determined channel.